August 16, 2012 11:25pm EDTAugust 16, 2012 12:17pm EDTThe Oakland A's and Pittsburgh Pirates are struggling in August, jeopardizing their chances to reach the postseason. What has gone wrong for the one-time Cinderellas, and can it be fixed in time to stay in contention?

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics, two of this season’s most pleasant surprises, are struggling.

Although finishing .500 would be a tremendous accomplishment for each—and an outcome Pirates fans would have welcomed with tears of joy before the season began—the postseason remains the goal. And that goal is in jeopardy.

A look at what has gone wrong for each small-market upstart recently:

PIRATES

The comparisons to last season are inevitable. The 2011 Pirates appeared poised to end their stretch of 18 consecutive losing seasons. They hit a season-high seven games over .500 on July 19, had a share of the NL Central lead on July 25 and were buyers at the July 31 nonwaiver trading deadline. Pittsburgh then lost 10 consecutive games to fall out of postseason contention and lost 43 of its final 62 games to ensure a 19th consecutive losing season.

This season, the Pirates hit their high-water mark (16 games over .500) on Aug. 8, though they had surrendered their share of first place back on July 18. They climbed above .500 on June 1 and have stayed there, thanks to a rotation that has overachieved and an offense that tied for the major league lead in runs (276) and was second to the New York Yankees in home runs (78) from June 1 through July 31.

Recent rut: The Pirates have lost six of their past eight games and went 4-7 on their just finished 11-game homestand. Prior to this cold stretch at PNC Park, the Pirates’ .673 winning percentage at home was the majors’ best.

Overheard: "The guys that are here, the core group of men here, have gone out on the field and played extremely well for the bulk of the season," manager Clint Hurdle told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "If you just take our record, you look at our record, and you go back and somebody would have said, here's where you're going to be on August 15—this ain't too bad. We can work with this. You add in what's going on at the time, momentum. And then you think, 'Whoa, we've got to find a way.' "

Upcoming opponents: The next two weeks will be critical for the Pirates, who will face the wild card-hopeful St. Louis Cardinals six times in their next 12 games. But the good news for Pittsburgh is that it has 29 dates remaining against the sub-.500 Milwaukee Brewers (9 games), Chicago Cubs (7), Houston Astros (6), New York Mets (4) and San Diego Padres (3).

Fearless forecast: The Pirates will snap their string of losing seasons but fall short of a postseason berth.

ATHLETICS

With a 37-42 record on June 30, Oakland was considered an overachiever but not much more. But an amazing July transformed the A’s from a rebuilders to contenders. In that month, they suddenly flexed their power, finishing fourth in the majors with 36 homers. The staff was just as productive, posting a 3.14 ERA that ranked fifth in the majors. That combination of hitting and pitching led to a 19-5 record and the majors’ best winning percentage (.792) in July.

With a win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 3, the A’s moved to a season-high 10 games over .500 and were the AL wild-card leaders. But it has been feast or famine offensively since then, and the team has allowed fewer than four runs just three times in the past 12 games. As a result, the A’s have surrendered that wild-card lead.

Recent rut: The A’s have lost seven of their past 11 games, and have lost consecutive series for the first time since late May/early June.

Stunning stat: In its past 10 losses, Oakland has scored a total of just 16 runs. In its past four wins, it has scored 31 runs.

Overheard: "It's a bad loss for us across the board," starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy told the team’s website after Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals. "These are the games that I think we've expected to win all year and been winning, and to give that up late like that is—we need to do better than this. I'm not happy with myself, and there's a lot of things we could've done today to be better."

Upcoming opponents: In the short term, the schedule is favorable. The Cleveland Indians come to town this weekend, followed by the Minnesota Twins. And there are seven key matchups remaining against the Los Angeles Angels. But the final three weeks of the season will be brutal. Oakland will host the Baltimore Orioles from Sept. 14-16 and then embark on a 10-game road trip that will take it to Detroit, New York and Texas. And the A’s will finish with a three-game homestand against the Texas Rangers.

Fearless forecast: With five teams battling for two wild-card berths, the A’s will finish on the outside looking in. And finishing above .500 is no guarantee.